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HealthDay News/Dr. Tango--A recent study suggests that when
it comes to buying footwear, runners should follow Prince
Charming's lead and consider a shoe's fit, not its price
tag.

Using high-tech methods, a team of Scottish
scientists found there were no differences in either comfort or
shock absorption between running shoes costing $80 and shoes made
by the same company costing more than $150.

"My advice to runners is that they should first
look at if the shoe fits well. A higher price doesn't mean you're
getting better quality," confirms Rami Abboud, head of the research
group and director of the Institute of Motion Analysis and Research
at the University of Dundee.

His team published their findings on October 10
in the online edition of the British Journal of Sports
Medicine.

Over the past few decades, the lowly sneaker has
been transformed from a humble canvas-topped loafer into something
that, according to advertisers, uses space-age technology to
protect and enhance the human foot. Naturally these exorbitant
claims come with exorbitant prices.

"What we wanted to research was, are you really
getting value for money?" explained Abboud, "or are you just paying
for advertisement."

In their study, the Scottish researchers asked
43 men with an average age of 29 to try on nine pairs of shoes,
three models each from three of the world's leading manufacturers.
The men's shoe sizes ranged from 8 to 10 (considered average), and
the men didn't have any foot or gait abnormalities.

The retail price of each of the three shoes of
each brand varied in price from $80 to $90, $120 to $130, and
$140 to $150 respectively. The men were not aware of the brand nor
the price of the shoes they were trying on.

Participants were asked to try on the shoes and
give the researchers a subjective assessment of each shoe's
comfort. They were also asked to run in the shoes while wearing
high-tech sensors to measure the pressure on various points on the
foot including plantar pressure, the force generated by the impact
of the sole hitting the ground.

"I believe that manufacturers of sporting wear
use similar, if not the same, equipment for measuring pressure
inside the shoes," explained Abboud.

After tabulating the results, the researchers
reported no significant differences in comfort among the shoes,
regardless of their price.

As far as shock absorption, some shoes performed
better than others on different areas of the foot, but no clear
pattern emerged. In fact, plantar pressure was actually lower for
cheap to moderately priced footwear compared to high priced shoes,
although this difference didn't reach statistical importance,
assured the researchers.

"The idea is that if you pay more, you will end
up with more protective shoes; however, this is not what we were
finding," said Abboud. "From what we have found, [the difference]
seems to be just pure advertisement."

HealthDay efforts to obtain comments from Nike
and Adidas, footwear manufacturers, were unsuccessful.

Podiatrists and footwear experts have their own
opinions on the findings.

"I don't find anything shocking in this article,
finding out that maybe some of the higher priced running shoes
really aren't necessary for an average person who runs," assured
Dr. James Christina, podiatrist and director of scientific affairs
at the American Podiatric Medical Association. Big-name companies
"come out with a new model [of running shoes] every year," he said.
"How much can they really improve?"

However, he also pointed out that people who buy
sneakers are paying for the lifespan of the shoe and not just its
comfort and protection.

The Scottish study is a mere "snapshot of the
cushioning ability of a shoe over time," explained Christina. "It
would have been interesting to ask the participants to run during a
certain amount of time for a determined number of months or a year,
and then compare how the cushioning held up.

Another expert agreed and added that the fit of
the shoe, not the price, should be the determining factor when
buying shoes.

The study's methodology "didn't tell me if the
shoes were appropriate for a particular runner," commented Dr.
Gerard Varlotta, director of sports rehabilitation at the Rusk
Institute of Rehabilitative Medicine, part of New York University
Medical Center.

"What we have to do is look at the shoe itself
and not the price," he said. "Is someone who runs 300 miles a week
the same as someone who runs 3 miles a week?"

Bruce Wilk, physical therapist and former board
member of the American Medical Athletic Association, owns Runner's
High a store in Miami catering to avid runners. He explained that
too many runners just try on a few sneakers in a store without
giving them a test run.

"A lot of times they invest money in something
that just simply does not fit them," he explained. "New shoes
always feel comfortable if they don't squeeze or dig in. But if
runners enjoy running in the shoes, and are taught what to look
for, then the panorama changes."

That's why Wilk has his customers try running
with different shoes on a treadmill before they choose which ones
are right for them.

In terms of the price, Wilk agreed that if the
option is $80 versus $200 there may not be a significant advantage
at all. It's just about how the shoe feels to the beholder."

Varlotta agreed. "You don't have to buy the most
expensive [shoes] to get something that meets your needs," he said,
"just like you don't need a Rolls Royce to enjoy a smooth
drive."